Storm and Art were both yelling at the top of their lungs. Hal made a strangled noise somewhere between a cry and what someone would make on the gallows, unable to form any intelligible words. Diana, however, reacted with the speed of a ninja. She swung around, putting her hands up like she was raising the roof, and the car just stopped in midair.

That was pretty sweet. It made Hal's own powers look pretty lame in comparison, although Diana looked like she was in serious pain as she held her hands up. "Thorn!" she yelled in a choked voice. "Help!"

Vines instantly wrapped around the car, jerking it backwards. Diana collapsed beside Hal, breathing heavily. "We lost our cover," she panted.

"You can hold up cars," Hal said dumbly.

"Telekinesis," she replied. "But it hurt like crazy."

A gunshot exploded across the street, and Diana flinched. What almost seemed instinctive made Hal grimace when she put her arm over him, trying to protect him. "Di," he said. "You're my friend and all ..."

"Yes?"

"But this is uncomfortable."

The girl blushed furiously, moving backwards as if she'd been scalded. "Oh ... yeah."

Before Hal could say anything else, running footsteps made them both look behind Diana. A man with a rifle was running at them, and he raised the gun. Diana screamed, and Hal felt his breath catch in his throat. "I've already been shot once today!" he shouted. This day was getting more and more horrible with every passing moment.

Diana shoved with her hands, but the man only staggered. Evidently, catching the car with her hands had weakened her powers and made her unable to do anything else. Hal's life literally flashed before his eyes. Not surprisingly, it wasn't very long, considering he hadn't been alive for more than sixteen years.

The gun fired. Hal watched the man as if from a dream, not even reacting, calmly waiting for death—on the outside, at least. Inside, he was panicking, struggling to find a way to survive when he could hardly move. Finally, he just decided to close his eyes and accept his fate.

Except ... nothing happened. After waiting with his eyes squeezed shut for several seconds, Hal opened one eye. The man with the rifle was lying face-down in the street, and blood was on the back of his shirt. "Wha—?"

"Eagle!" Diana pulled herself into a seated position to smile at the man. "You came ... you saved us!"

"Obviously." Art scooped Hal back up into his arms, ignoring the car that was upside down near them. "We need to go. More men are coming."

He offered Diana his hand and the girl accepted it, letting him pull her to her feet. She leaned on him as he took her to the van, opening the back doors for them both. Once Diana was inside, she helped Art get Hal in and comfortable.

Up front, Storm sat in the passenger seat. "We've got five minutes until this situation goes critical," she said. "Art, get your rear in gear and get up here, now."

"You realize those three things rhymed, right?" Art asked as he hurried around the side of the car, climbing into the driver's seat. The van started with a low rumble and shot away from the curb. Art's laughter echoed to the back of the van. "Hold on, kiddos! This could get bumpy!"

Diana gripped what Hal's father called the "granny-handle" next to the doors. The van sped off, Art driving like a maniac, and Hal noticed Diana's face was turning a chalky white. "You okay?" he asked.

The girl gave a shaky laugh. "You'll never believe it, but I'm scared to death of driving," she admitted.

"Seriously?"

She nodded, jerking to the side at a particularly violent turn. "Superpowers don't scare me a bit, but driving? Particularly with Art."

Hal couldn't help it; he just started laughing and found he couldn't stop. "I'm sorry," he gasped out between breaths. "That's just really weird, Di."

"I know," Diana replied, grinning in spite of herself. "Art, how long till we get to Haven?"

"Depends," Art said. "If we aren't pursued, and I really doubt that's not gonna happen, then we'll be there in two hours. However, if those two inconspicuous black cars are what I think they are, we're going to have a little bit of a delay."

Something slammed into the window on the back door above Hal's head, and he squeaked in panic. Art swore from the front seat. "Yeah, I thought so," he muttered. "Hang on!"

The van lurched forward, feeling as if it had left Hal's stomach behind with it.

. . . . . . . . . .

"Look at it," the woman said, viewing the destruction on Hal's street. "Such useless destruction. Do the supers have no rules? No morals?"

"That's why they must be eliminated," the man beside her agreed. The security room displayed more pictures from the two cars following the black van. "Thorn and Eagle are especially dangerous, but the boy, Hal, he must die. He must not be permitted to learn his powers."

"I don't understand." The woman viewed her companion with fear and confusion.

"His powers had to come from somewhere," he said. "The only one who could even possibly compete with his abilities was Solar, and we all know how that ended. If Whittaker is to reach the power of Solar, with his control, he could once more turn the tide in the direction of the supers. But if he were to lose his mind, as Solar did ... it wouldn't just be an apartment building destroyed."

The woman laid a hand on the screen with the black van. "It would be easiest to simply destroy the van," she said. "All four would be killed immediately."

"Exactly," the man agreed. "But if they somehow escape, and reach Haven safely ..."

"He'll be out of our reach," his compatriot protested.

The man smiled. "Not necessarily."

. . . . . . . . . . .

Far from the office building that the man and woman had taken over, two women viewed the same scenes. "Imagine that power as a villain," one said with childlike glee.

"He would be most useful," the other said in a more subdued tone. "However, with United on his tail and Thorn and Eagle as his protectors, the odds of getting him now are slim. We should let them battle it out and see how the dust falls when it's over."

"They could've reached Haven by then," the younger woman retorted.

"Oh, I hope they do," her elder replied, her thin lips twisting in a smile. "Then the net will truly be tightened around the boy, and the noose around Eagle and Thorn's necks." She hit a button on the computer and turned to her younger compatriot. "Come. We have much planning to do."

. . . . . . . . . .

"I can't shake them," Art said, jerking the wheel to the right. "We can't go to the water until we get them off our tail."

"Can you drive with one hand?" Storm asked, already taking off her seatbelt. She rolled down her window.

"Sure."

"Then hold on to me," Storm ordered, and started hanging out the window.

"Whoa! Honey!" Art was flabbergasted. His right hand shot out and grabbed the back of her coat as he struggled to keep the van going straight. "What the heck are you doing?!"

He risked a glance in the rearview mirror. Vines sprouted out of the road, lashing at the cars, entering through any cracks they could find. One car spun off the road and slammed into a nearby building, collapsing on its side. More plants covered it to prevent the doors from opening. The second car had it slightly easier. They hastily shut their windows and put on the gas.

"One of them's got a gun!" Diana yelled shrilly from the back.

Art yanked on Storm's coat and dragged her back into the car. "What are you doing?" his wife demanded.

"Gun. Get down!" Both of them ducked down as bullets shattered the back windows.

"I thought this car was indestructible!" Hal shouted.

"Virtually," Art admitted. "Your turn, hon." He undid his own seatbelt as Storm wrapped plants around the wheel, keeping it straight. More pressed down on the gas. Art dove mostly out the window, held in the van by some vines around his waist. He fired two energy blasts at the remaining car behind them.

Immediately, there were two massive explosions that sent tremors through the ground. Storm pulled Art back in and he took the wheel back, jerking it to the left. The car sped past them, straight to the pier overlooking the water ... and over the boardwalk, right into the water itself.

Art stopped the van, breathing a deep sigh. "That was too close," he said. "Everyone alright?"

Diana replied with horrible retching sounds. "I think Diana's carsick," Hal muttered. "That's just disgusting."

"Sorry," Diana said quietly.

"Storm?" Art said.

She nodded, brushing her hair out of her eyes. "I'm fine. They really pulled out all the stops for us," she said. "I think we're getting more popular, Art."

"Or less popular, depending on how you look at it," Art admitted. "This is what you'd be up against if we left you alone, Hal. Attacks like that, every day."

"Where are we going?" Hal asked.

"Haven," Diana said. "It's a safe place for supers like us. You are coming, aren't you?" she added.

"Y-yeah. I don't ... I don't want to have to deal with that again," Hal said. Art could hear the boy trying to keep his voice calm.

"Alrighty then," Art said, starting the van up again. It didn't start quite so smoothly, and he sighed. "My poor baby has been abused today."

"I'm sure you can charge Guardian for it," Storm told him.

At that, Art had to smile. "I think I just might," he said. "Okeydokey, everyone, time to ride. This could get a bit bumpy, so hold on."

Art did a rather illegal U-turn to get back on the road towards the pier. Storm tapped the side of the door as he kept going, onto the boardwalk. From the back came Diana's nervous voice. "Where are we going?"

Art grinned maliciously. "Don't you know that to reach Haven, you have to go into the water?" he questioned, and stepped on the gas.

The van sped off the boardwalk and splashed into the ocean. As it sank into the water, Art could hear the screams of sheer terror from Hal and Diana, and he couldn't help but laugh.